Box forming machines



March 1, 1966 Filed May 10, 1963 C. J. GROSS BOX FORMING MACHINES 17 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor: Ckar/es J Gross By M'sfltorney March 1, 1966 c. J. GROSS BOX FORMING MACHINES l7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 10, 1963 March 1, 1966 c. J. GROSS BOX FORMING MACHINES 17 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 10. 1965 March 1, 1966 c. J. GROSS BOX FORMING MACHINES 1'? Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 10, 1963 March 1, 1966 c. J. GROSS 3,237,535

BOX FORMING MACHINES Filed May 10, 1965 17 Sheets-Sheet 5 Q Q March 1, 1966 c. J. GROSS BOX FORMING MACHINES 17 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed May 10, 1963 iFl l C. J. GROSS March 1, 1966 17 Sheets-Sheet 7 May 10, 1963 C. J. GRQSS BOX FORMING MACHINES March 1, 1966 17 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed May 10. 1963 March 1, 1966 c. J. GROSS 3,237,535

BOX FORMING MACHINES 1'7 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed May 10, 1963 March 1, 1966 c. J. GROSS BOX FORMING MACHINES 1'7 Sheets-Sheet 10 Filed May 10, 1963 March 1, 1966 c. J. GRCSS 3,237,535

BOX FORMING MACHINES Filed May 10, 1963 17 Sheets-Sheet 11 March 1, 1966 c. J. GRQSS 3,237,535

BOX FORMING MACHINES Filed May 10, 1963 1'7 Sheets-Sheet 1z Baa [Z March 1, 1966 c. J. GROSS 3,237,535

BOX FORMING MACHINES Filed May 10, 1965 1'? Sheets-Sheet l5 March 1, 1966 c. J. GROSS 3,237,535

BOX FORMING MACHINES Filed May 10, 1963 17 Sheets-Sheet 14 March 1, 1966 c. J. GROSS BOX FORMING MACHINES 17 Sheets-Sheet 15 Filed May 10, 1963 wwm Mum vb N GM @w No m Nam O0 SQN QQN WRM March 1, 1966 c. J. GROSS 3,237,535

BOX FORMING MACHINES Filed May 10, 1963 1''! Sheets-Sheet 16 March 1, 1966 c. J. GROSS 3,237,535

BOX FORMING MACHINES Filed May 10, 1963 17 Sheets-Sheet 17 ZSZHI United States Patent 3,237,535 BOX FORMING MACHINES Charles J. Gross, Winchester, Mass., assiguor to Hoague- Sprague Corporation, Lynn, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Filed May 10, 1963, Ser. No. 279,419 Claims. (Cl. 93-49) This invention relates generally to box forming machines and more particularly is directed to automatic machines for setting up boxes or cartons of various sizes and shapes from flat blanks of sheet material.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide a greatly improved machine for forming boxes or cartons of a superior quality at a high rate of speed from flat blanks having a rectangular bottom portion, side wings and end wings foldably connected thereto and corner laps and extensions foldably connected to the side wings and end wings respectively. To this end the machine is provided with a magazine for holding a stack of flat blanks, each of which is automatically placed at a first bending station where the corner laps are folded to provide guide surfaces. From this station the blanks are individually fed to an adhesive applying station where the end wings are coated with adhesive. Thereafter the blanks are fed through a second bending station where the end wing extensions are flexed to impart a permanent bend thereto, and finally fed to a forming station where the various parts of the blank are folded over a form and pressed to form a finished box. While the machine is especially suited to operate on blanks of the above type it should be understood that many of the features embodied therein make it well suited to operate on blanks of other types without departing from the scope of the invention.

According to one feature of the invention each blank is transferred from the magazine onto a pair of rails at the first bending station. The rails are spaced apart a distance equal to the length of the side win-gs of the blank and extend through the other stations to the forming station. At the first bending station means are provided to bend the comer laps over the outsides of the rails to provide guiding surfaces on the blank to confine the blank to a predetermined path as it is fed along the feed plane defined by the rails. Guide means are also provided adjacent the outside of the rails to define a closed path in which the corner laps are confined. In this manner surfaces of the blank are used for guiding purposes for more precise location of the blank than is possible in machines that utilize the edges of the blank for this purpose.

According to another feature the blank is guided as above provided with the end wings outspread in the plane of the rails through the adhesive applying station in which rolls underlying the feed plane coat one side of the end wings with adhesive. This feature provides means for coating only the end wings of the blank in a simple and precise manner.

A further feature of the invention provides means for flexing the extensions of the adhesively coated end wings to impart a permanent bend thereto to facilitate subsequent operations in the forming station. With this feature an operation is performed progressively while the blank is fed, thus avoiding the necessity of complex bending mechanism in the forming station.

The above and other features of the invention together with various novel details of construction and combinations of parts will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings and thereafter pointed out in the claims.

Patented Mar. 1, 1966 In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the entire machine embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view showing the condition of tlrlle box blank as it is fed progressively through the mac me;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the machine showing the magazine and means for separating and partially forming the lowermost blank in the magazine.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the glue applying section of the machine;

FIG. 5 is a plan View of the same portion of the machine shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a section on line VIVI of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the end wing eX- tension bending means;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of substantially the same portion of the machine as seen in FIG. 7 but with the box blank being moved into the forming station;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the box forming station;

FIG. 10 is a side elevation of the box forming station with parts broken away;

FIG. 11 is a section substantially on line XI-XI of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a section on line XIIXII of FIG. 9;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of one end of the box forming station wit-h the parts shown in the initial box forming positions;

FIG. 14 is a view similar to FIG. 13 but with the arts in a more advanced position;

FIG. 15 is a further progressive view similar to FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is another perspective view of the box forming station with the parts shown in their positions upon completion of their box forming movement; and

FIG. 17 is a section substantially on line XVII-XVII of FIG. 10;

FIG. 18 is a section substantially on line XVIII-XVIII of FIG. 17.

Referring to FIG. 1 it may be seen that the machine includes a magazine 30 for holding a stack of box blanks 19 to be formed into boxes, a blank separating device 32 for transferring one blank at a time from the bottom of the magazine to a corner lap bending station 34, a station 36 for applying adhesive to the end wings, an end wing extension bending station 38 and a box forming station 40. FIG. 2 illustrates the various folded conditions of the box blank 10 as it is fed through the various operating stations of the machine. In its initial flat condition the blank 10 comprises a rectangular bottom portion 11 from which project opposite side wings 12 and end wings 16, the side wings and the end wings being connected to the bottom portion along prescored fold lines. The opposite ends of the side wings have corner laps 14 foldably connected thereto while the end wings are provided with foldable extensions 18. Referring particularly to FIG. 2, the condition of the box blank is shown as flat as it is fed from the magazine to the station 34 where the corner laps 14 are folded down. The blank is then fed through the station 36 where adhesive is applied to the undersides of the end wings 16 and thereafter through the unit 38 which flexes the end wing extensions 18. Finally the blank is fed into the forming station 40 where the side wings and the end wings are down folded and the end wing extensions 18 are infolded over the combined corner laps 14 and end Wings 16. After the blank is folded in this manner, pressure is applied to the folded ends to complete the forming of a box 20. For operating the various instrumentalities of the machine there is provided a motor M (FIG. 1) which through a variable speed drive (not shown) acts to rotate a cam shaft 50 and through a chain and sprocket arrangement 52 also acts to rotate adhesive applying rolls 60.

As seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, the magazine 30 includes four upstanding rails 70 which guide the stack of box blanks by engagement with the ends of the corner laps 14 of the box blank and also includes a plate 72 on which rests one edge of the side wings of the blanks. The magazine is also provided with plates 74 (FIG. 3) which support the stack by engagement with the lowermost blank. The rails 70 are adjustably mounted on bars 76 which in turn are adjustably secured to bars 78 carried by the machine frame so that the magazine may be adjusted to accommodate box blanks of various sizes and shapes. The support plate 72 is also adjustably mounted on the bars 78 for the same purpose.

For removing one box blank at a time from the lower side of the magazine, the machine is provided with a transfer arm 80 having suction cups 82 adjustably secured thereto. The arm is fixed to a shaft 84 which is rotatably mounted in bearings 86 fixed to a portion of the machine frame so that the arm may be swung from the position shown in phantom lines in FIG. 3 where the suction cups 82 engage and grip the lowermost box blank in the magazine to the position shown in full where the separated box blank is deposited on a pair of rails 90. During removal from the magazine the blank flexes sufficiently to be pulled out of engagement with the plates 74. For swinging the arm 80 the shaft 84 has fixed thereto an arm 92 connected by a link 94 to one arm of a bell crank 96 which is fulcrumed on a shaft 98 journalled in bearings 99 secured to the machine frame. The other arm of the bell crank is connected by a link 100 to a cam lever 102 fulcrumed on a shaft 104 in a composite bracket 106 (see also FIG. secured to the machine frame. The cam lever 102 is adapted to be oscillated to raise and lower the arm 80 by a cam 103 secured to the cam shaft 50. Each of the suction cups 82 (FIG. 3) is connected through a tube 110 with a solenoid operated valve 112 which controls the suction applied by a vacuum pump 114 (FIG. 1). The shaft 84 carrying the arm 80 at one end is provided with a cam 116 adapted to actuate a switch 118 which controls energization of the valve 112. The arrangement is such that as the arm 80 approaches its upper position, as seen in phantom lines in FIG. 3, the suction is applied to the cups 82 as they engage the lowermost blank in the magazine. As soon as the arm is moved to its lowermost position where the blank is deposited on the rails 98, the cam 116 actuates the switch 118 to de-energize the valve 112 to remove the suction from the cups 82 thereby releasing the box blank.

At this time the box blank is resting on the rails 90 at the lap bending station 34 with the trailing edge of the blank positioned against a pair of curved rails 130. The alignment of the blank is such that the fold lines between the corner laps 14 and side wings 12 overlie the outer edges of the rails 90. For bending the corner laps there are provided four bending arms 132, 134 secured at opposite sides of the machine on shafts 136. As the box blank is being deposited on the rails 90, the arms 132, 134 are in their raised position shown in phantom lines in FIG. 3. As soon as the blank is resting on the rails the arms are swung downwardy to the positions shown in full lines and during this movement the innermost curved ends of the arms act to bend the corner laps 14 downwardly over and outside the rails 90. To avoid undue bowing of the body of the box blank and to retain it on the rails, the arms 132 are provided with extensions 138 to which are secured guide rails 140 adapted to rest on the upper surface of the blank. For raising and lowering the arms 132, 134 the shafts 136 are journaled in bearings 142 secured to the machine frame and are provided with arms 144 connected by links 146 to a pair of arms 148 (FIG. 1) fixed at opposite ends of the shaft 98. The shaft 98 also has fixed thereto an arm 150 adjacent the bell crank 96. This arm is connected by a link 152 to a 4 cam lever 154 (FIG. 10) also pivoted on the shaft 104 and adapted to be oscillated by a cam 155 fixed on the cam shaft 50.

After the corner laps 14 are bent downwardly by the arms 132, 134 the blank is moved along the rails 90 and through the adhesive applying station 36. For so moving the blank, the machine is provided with a pair of feed slides (FIGS. 4, 5, and 6) which are mounted for reciprocating movement in linear ball bearings carried by a pair of rails 162 fixed to the inner sides of the rails 90. Each of the slides is provided with a bar 163 mounted in guideways 164 in the slide. The bar is adapted to be adjusted in the guideways to accommodate blanks of different sizes and is fixed in adjusted position on the slide 160 by a thumb screw 166. At their rearward ends the bars are provided with upstanding feed lugs 168 which are adapted to engage the trailing end of each successive blank deposited on the feed rails 90. For moving the blank along the rails each slide 160 is connected by links 170 to the upper end of an arm 172 which is mounted for swinging movements on a shaft 174 (FIG. 10) carried by lugs 176 extending from the bracket 106. The arm is connected by a link 178 to a cam lever 180 also mounted for swinging movement on the shaft 104. The cam lever is adapted to be oscillated for reciprocating the feed slide by a cam 181 fixed on the cam shaft 50.

While the blank is moved along the rails 90 through the adhesive applying station 36, the outspread end Wings 16 are fed between the glue applying rolls 60 and opposed pressure rolls 190. The lower side of the rolls 6!) rotate in a pair of trays 192 containing adhesive and carried by rails 194 adjustably secured to the machine frame. As the rolls 60 are rotated clockwise, as seen in FIG. 6, adhesive is picked up on the surface of the roll and is thereafter spread to a uniform thickness by a doctor blade device 196 arranged adjacent each roll 60. The surface speed of the applying rolls 60 is substantially the same as the linear movement of the box blank so that a substantially uniform layer of adhesive is deposited on the underside of the end Wings as the blank is fed through the adhesive applying station 36. During its feeding movement the blank rests on the top edge of the rails 90 and is guided by the downturned corner laps passing between the inner ends of the arms 132, 134 and the outer surfaces of the guide rails 90. Additional guiding surfaces are provided by guide plates 200 arranged between the arms 132, 134. As the blank is fed through the adhesive applying station 36 and subsequent stations, additional guide rails 202 which also are arranged adjacent the guide rails 90 act not only to guide the box blank but also to maintain the corner laps 14 in their downturned condition.

After feeding the blank through the station 36 the feed slides 160 are returned to their initial positions in readiness for transporting the next successive blank separated from the magazine by means of the feed lugs 168. For transporting the first fed blank to successive stations of the machine, the forward ends of the feed bars 163 are provided with yieldable feed lugs 210. During the next reciprocation of the feed slides the lugs 210 engage the trailing end of the first fed box blank and feed it further along the rails 90 through the station 38 which is adapted to flex the end Wing extensions to impart a permanent bend thereto in preparation for the final forming operations on the blank. FIG. 7 shows the blank as it is being fed through the bending station 38 while FIG. 8 shows the blank as it is being fed beyond this station and into the box forming station 40. The bending station 38 is provided with a pair of plates 211 (FIGS. 5 and 6) which are spaced outside the rails 90 to support the end wings 16 at the fold lines connecting the extensions 18. A pair of foldmg members 212 are provided with surfaces 213 (see especially FIG. 6) which converge into and below the plane of movement of the extensions from the upper side of a blank on the rails 91 As the blank is fed by the lugs 210, the extensions 18 are progressively folded downwardly over the rails 211 by the surfaces 213. The downturned extensions next are engaged by further surfaces 214 which converge upwardly into their path of movement to further fold the extensions inwardly to an extent insufficient to cause the adhesive coated surfaces of the end wings and their extension to make contact yet sutficient to impart a permanent bend to the extensions. So that the blank is completely guided at this time and to resist the upward forces bending the extensions 16, the machine is provided with additional guide members 220, 221 which engage the upper surface of the blank as it is fed through this station. As the blank is fed into the forming station it passes over a pair of spring plates 222 to further guide the blank as it passes beyond the rails 90.

As the blank is fed from the station 38 into the forming station 48, the spring plates 222 insure that the blank passes over a forming plate 230. The plate has a rectangular outline substantially corresponding to the bottom portion 11 of the blank and is secured to the upper end of a rod 232. The rod is guided for heightwise sliding movement normal to the upper surface of the plate in a bore 234 formed in a rod 236 which in turn is guided for coaxial heightwise sliding movement in a bearing 238 secured to the machine frame. At its lower end the rod 232 is connected by a link 240 (FIG. 10) to a cam lever 242 pivotally mounted on a shaft 246 journaled in the bracket 106. For raising and lowering the plate 230 during its box forming movement the lever 242 is provided with a cam roll 248 adapted to engage a cam 243 fixed on the cam shaft 59. During the upward movement of the form plate 230 the bottom portion 11 of the blank is moved up between four rails 260, 261 (FIGS. 9-16) having lugs 262 by which they are adjustably secured to cross bars 264. The forming rails 265 are spaced apart at opposite sides of the form plate a distance corresponding to the width of the bottom of the blank where the end wings 16 are connected. The bars 264 at opposite ends in turn are adjustably secured to bars 266 to provide for additional size adjustment. At their lower ends one pair of rails 260 is provided with horizontal extensions 268 having upturned ends for guiding the box blank as it enters the forming station. The other pair of rails 261 at their lower ends are also provided with horizontal extensions 270. At their junctures with the members 268, 261 the horizontal extensions 268 and 270 form curved surfaces 272 adapted to be engaged by the side wings 12 of the box blank as it is moved upwardly by the plate 230 to commence the down folding movement of the side wings. At this time the downturned corner laps 14 of the blank are retained in their bent position by a pair of plates 280. As the plate 230 continues its upward movement the end wings 16 of the blank engage the lower edges of a pair of pressure plates 299 as best seen in FIGS. 12 and 14. As it may be seen, the corner laps 14 are being guided by the plates 280 so as to be folded inside the end wings 16. Continued movement of the plate 231) raises the box blank to the position shown in FIG. where the side wings and end wings are fully folded. At this time, the lower edges of the side wings 12 have moved beyond stripper lugs 292 yieldably mounted on the rails 26%), 261. The lugs are secured to the plates 260, 261 by means of thumb screws 294 (FIGS. 14 and 15) which pass through slots 296 formed in the members 260, 261 so the lugs may be adjusted heightwise to accommodate other sizes of boxes. The lugs act to prevent retrograde movement of the formed box during the retracting movement of the plate 230. As soon as the form plate 230 has reached its uppermost position as seen in FIG. 15 a main box form 300 which conforms substantially to the shape and size of the interior of the box is adapted to be moved heightwise following the direction of movement of the form plate 230. To this end the form 300 is fixed to the upper end of the rod 236 which at its lower end is connected by links 302 (FIG. 10) to a cam lever 304 also pivoted on the shaft 246 and adapted to be oscillated by a cam 305 fixed on the cam shaft 50. As the form 300 is raised it engages the inwardly bent extensions 18 on the end wings 16 and folds them upwardly over the inturned corner laps 14. The final position of the form 300 is shown in FIG. 16 where the folded blank is supported from the inside substantially by the form 300.

At this point in the machine cycle the pressure plates 296 are moved inwardly to press both ends of the folded blank against the opposite ends of the form 300 so that the formed box ends become adhesively secured. To this end each of the pressure plates has secured thereto a pair of ball nut units 320 which threadably receive a pair of screw shafts 321, 322 which extend across the machine and are journalled in bearings 324 fixed in upstanding end plates 326 secured to the machine frame. Each of the screw shafts 321, 322 is provided at opposite ends with threads of opposite hand in which run ball bearings 323 (FIG. 9) in the nut units so that simultaneous rotation of the screws cause the presssure plates 290 to be moved toward or away from each other depending on the direction of rotation of the screw shafts. So that the screw shafts 321, 322 are rotated in synchronism they are provided with sprockets 330, 332 (FIG. 10) over which runs a chain 334. To maintain the chain under tension, an adjustable sprocket 336 is provided. At one end, the ball screw 322 has adjustably secured thereto an arm 340 which is connected by a yieldable link 342 to a cam lever 344 mounted for swinging movement on a shaft 346 journaled in the bracket 106. The cam lever 344 is in the form of a bell crank and the other arm thereof carries a roll which rides on a cam 347 fixed to the cam shaft 50. As best seen in FIG. 10, the yieldable link 342 comprises a body portion 350 which is connected to the arm 340 and a rod 352 which is connected to the cam lever 344. The rod 352 has an enlarged head 354 which engages the upper end of a spring 356 on the rod, the lower end of the spring being contained by a shoulder in the body portion 359. Since the ball screws 321, 322 are rotated to apply pressure to the box ends upon downward movement of the cam lever 344 it may be seen that upon solid engage ment of the pressure plates 290 with the ends of the box further downward movement of the cam lever 344 acts to compress the spring 356 so that only a predetermined pressure will be applied to the box ends.

So that the machine may be suitable for forming a wide variety of box sizes and shapes, provision is made for adjusting the spacing between the pressure plates 290 to accommodate different sizes of box forms. To this end the arm 340 is adapted to be disconnected from the screw shaft 322 so both screw shafts may be simultaneously rotated by hand. For this purpose both shafts are provided with squared ends to receive a handle (not shown). As best seen in FIGS. 17 and 18 the sprocket 322 has fixed thereto a plate 358 having semi-circular depressions 359 equally spaced about its circumference. The portion of the arm 340 adjacent the late 358 carries two rotatable pins 360 having knobs 361 (see also FIG. 10) and semi-cylindrical ends 362 adapted in one rotatable position to be received in driving engagement with one of the depressions 359 and in the other rotatable position to be disengaged and in non-driving position outside the circumference of the plate 358. As seen in FIG. 18 one of the pins is in driving position so the arm 340 is connected to the shaft 322. By rotating the engaged pin the arm is easily disocnnected to permit manual rotation of the shaft to adjust the spacing between the pressure plates 2%. The spacing between the pins 360 is such that only one pin may be engaged at a time with the other pin positioned between two depressions 359. This permits a 

6. IN A MACHINE FOR FORMING BOXES FROM BLANKS OF SHEET MATERIAL HAVING A BOTTOM PORTION, SIDE WINGS AND END WINGS FOLDABLY CONNECTED THERETO, AND CORNER LAPS AND EXTENSIONS FOLDABLY CONNECTED TO THE SIDE WINGS AND END WINGS, RESPECTIVELY; A FIRST STATION, A PAIR OF RAILS AT THE FIRST STATION AND EXTENDING THEREFROM ALONG A DESIRED PLANE OF MOVEMENT OF THE BLANK, SAID RAILS BEING SPACED APART A DISTANCE EQUAL TO THE LENGTH OF SAID SIDE WINGS, MEANS FOR PLACING A SINGLE BLANK ON SAID RAILS AT THE FIRST STATION WITH THE SIDE WINGS EXTENDING ACROSS SAID RAILS, BENDING MEANS AT THE FIRST STATION FOR BENDING THE CORNER LAPS OVER SAID RAILS WITH THE END WINGS AND THEIR EXTENSIONS REMAINING OUTSPREAD BEYOND THE RAILS AND IN SAID PLANE, FEED MEANS EFFECTIVE AFTER SAID LAPS ARE BENT FOR FEEDING THE BLANKS ALONG SAID RAILS, GUIDE MEANS ADJACENT THE OUTER SURFACES OF SAID RAILS FORMING WITH SAID RAILS A SUBSTANTIALLY CLOSED PATH FOR MAINTAINING THE CORNER LAPS IN BENT CONDITION WHEREBY THE BLANK IS GUIDED BY ITS CORNER FLAPS AS IT IS FED ALONG THE RAILS IN SAID PLANE, A SECOND STATION THROUGH WHICH EXTEND SAID RAILS AND HAVING ADHESIVE APPLYING MEANS OUTSIDE SAID RAILS FOR COATING ONE SIDE OF THE OUTSPREAD END WINGS AND THE THEIR EXTENSIONS AS THE BLANK IS FED ALONG SAID RAILS, A THIRD STATION THROUGH WHICH SAID RAILS EXTEND AND HAVING SUPPORT PLATES SPACED OUTWARDLY FROM SAID RAILS AND ADAPTED TO SUPPORT THE END WINGS AT THE FOLD LINES CONNECTNG SAID EXTENSIONS TO THE END WINGS, AND FOLDING MEMBERS HAVING FIRST SURFACES CONVERGING FROM ONE SIDE OF THE BLANK INTO THE PLANE OF MOVEMENT OF SAID EXTENSIONS AS THE BLANK IS FED ALONG THE RAILS FOR PROGRESSIVELY BENDING SAID EXTENSIONS OVER SAID PLATES, SAID MEMBERS ALSO BEING PROVIDED WITH ADDITIONAL SURFACES CONVERGING FROM THE PROVIDED WITH ADDITIONAL SURFACES PLANE OF MOVEMENT OF SAID EXTENSIONS AFTER BENDING BY THE FIRST CONVERGING SURFACES FOR FURTHER BENDING SAID EXTENSIONS IN THE SAME DIRECTION TO AN EXTEND SUFFICIENTLY TO CAUSE A PERMANENT BEND TO BE IMPARTED TO SAID EXTENSION WITHOUT CAUSING THE ADHESIVELY COATED SURFACES OF THE END WINGS AND THEIR EXTENSIONS TO BECOME ENGAGED. 